A patrol in Virunga National Park came under attack from rebels south of Lake Edward. Three people were killed.
http://gorillacd.org/2012/10/26/rebels-attack-ranger-patrol-killing-three/
In an unrelated shocking incident, Dr Mukwege of Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, narrowly escaped a targeted attack from gunmen who had broken into his house and waited for him to return home from an overseas. Mukwege treats many of eastern DRC's rape victims and had recently spoken at the UN General Assembly about how he can treat people's wounds but the international community needs to treat the problems which make these wounds in the first place.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201210260820.html
These are a naive traveler's views of a mysterious land. The Democratic Republic of Congo was formerly called Zaire, meaning "the river that swallows all rivers", evoking the grand scale of the basin that drains tropical central Africa. Congo is home to vibrant cultures, unimaginable resource wealth and biodiversity. The history of the Congo is marred by dark colonial heritage, poverty, disease and war. The puzzle is that the problems exist because of its riches.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Return to DRC
Yep, I am back in DRC. Many people might think I'm an idiot for returning after surviving a rebel attack on my base there, and maybe they're right! I arrived on Tuesday night, one day after the famous biennial Sommet de la Francophonie officially closed. Hosting many Francophone country delegates including newly elected French president, this was a chance for the DRC to showcase itself to the world. The French president made some interesting comments leading up to the conference, including an accusation that human rights and democracy are not respected here, but he also expressed his belief that the boundaries of DRC are unalterable. These comments speak to recent events – including the squelching of all opposition (who French president visited while in country) and the trial of police for the murder of famous human rights activist. Furthermore, there is an aggression in the Kivu provinces by a militia group with links to two neighboring countries. Insiders believe that the ambitions of these countries are to gain territory and annex this resource-rich region. Meanwhile one of those countries was just elected to the UN Security Council which might allow it to veto any concrete action against ITSELF…odd!
So what did the DRC show off to the world? I rode from the airport with a Cameroonian guy who lives in Kinshasa, the massive capital city which had hosted the summit. He had left one week prior to the summit and noted several spectacular differences from 10 days earlier, including thousands of blue lights lining the (one and only) major road from the international airport to downtown. In fact the road is wide and almost felt like we were on a runway. Furthermore there were flickering crosswalk lights even where no one would need to cross. It was interesting because the density of lights was highest close to the airport where in fact there aren't really many people and gradually decreased moving toward the city as the population grew denser. So I guess the government is betting high that first impressions will be the most important and obviously these lights aren't all that important for safety.
In downtown there are large murals of a smiling President, smiling Congolese, okapis – the summit and DRC's national emblem – and many murals and streetlights which were meant to make the place look ultra-modern. Furthermore the summit was hosted on a weekend and Congolese were asked to take these days off to relieve the roads of traffic and to hide the reality of how the majority of Kinois are living and working in the informal sector.
Additionally, a massive hotel built for this occasion and allegedly funded entirely by politicians. It looks like it would blend in to Las Vegas. I'm going to check it out more when I get the chance.
But from what I've seen so far, signs of progress in Kinshasa are largely cosmetic and there doesn't seem to be any more organization or state control than before. I noticed this while chatting with my new Cameroonian friend, as we were stuck in traffic for almost 2 hours. People were driving on the wrong sides of the roads, cars were broken down everywhere, and the few police that we saw were unable to improve the situation. So, the same road that had hosted high level delegates in the 24-48 previous hours probably without traffic had returned to its natural state of chaos. This clearly showed me that resources are being canalized towards improving image but not the reality. But substance never mattered as much as style here so that is hardly a surprise.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Epulu bridges falling down (again!)
On September 24th I reflected on the 3 months since the attack...it is still just so depressing. Not a day goes by when I don't think about how the quiet village of Epulu was attacked and destroyed by the hands of a brutal militia - the "Mai-Mai Lumumba" led by a local poacher named Morgan...and then pillaged by the national army...ugh!! Quel malheur!
I want to share a link to my friend's blog post about Epulu. Since the attack, the village had begun to return to a very precarious "normal", but then the bridge fell down again (also in Nov 2009). My colleagues cried out to anyone who would listen about their misfortune. Their livelihoods disrupted by the attack in June and now the inconvenience of having to ford a river just to go to work...while threats of another attack continue.
A sleepy village transformed into a chaotic, bizarre place...MAF pilot John Cadd explains it well in this post:
http://captainsblogafrica.wordpress.com/2012/10/06/captains-log-6-oct-2012-bridge-out-in-the-wild-wild-west-east/
I want to share a link to my friend's blog post about Epulu. Since the attack, the village had begun to return to a very precarious "normal", but then the bridge fell down again (also in Nov 2009). My colleagues cried out to anyone who would listen about their misfortune. Their livelihoods disrupted by the attack in June and now the inconvenience of having to ford a river just to go to work...while threats of another attack continue.
A sleepy village transformed into a chaotic, bizarre place...MAF pilot John Cadd explains it well in this post:
http://captainsblogafrica.wordpress.com/2012/10/06/captains-log-6-oct-2012-bridge-out-in-the-wild-wild-west-east/
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Found: 1:30pm, Sunday afternoon (8.5 hrs after attack)
Deep in my thoughts, I was on a quest to determine how we
would escape from our situation. I had a very egotistical hope that my presence
in Epulu (the only expatriate) might help speed up the relief effort. I mean,
my country, the US, is omnipresent and capable of swooping into any old
backwater and saving the day, right? So, if they knew we had been attacked (and
that I was there) they’d undoubtedly be working overtime on my behalf, right?
Whereas other massacres happen without too much stress for the US embassy, this
time, they would know that an American was in the shit and needed help.
But how would I be rescued? Would the UN send a helicopter
and pick me up out of there? I began to imagine that a helicopter might come and
I would be the one they were going to rescue first. Certainly they’d come with
several helicopters to rescue the injured and try to account for me and others.
If confronted with scarce places in the chopper, would they allow me to cede my
place to those who were gravely injured? Would they then send another
helicopter to rescue me later? Ridiculous what the mind comes up with really…I
wanted to be important enough to be rescued and a hero at the same time.
Finally at about 1:30 pm, more than 8 hours since the siege
had begun began, we heard what we had longed to hear: an aircraft. We listened
as it slowly approached, cautiously stepping out of the shady corner of our
maize field in order to get a look at the sky. Its approaching rotor assured us
that it was a helicopter…and was undoubtedly a UN helicopter. In DRC, they are an
indicator of the insecurity which reigns throughout this region, and typically
it means that some bad guys are somewhere not too far away.
However, Epulu was different. In three years there, I had
only seen one UN helicopter, 1 ½ months prior to the attack, when the rumors
about rebels had heightened. It came and made a few sweeps over Epulu and then
it went, ready to report back on its mission. Since then, I’d been in Bunia,
where a huge UN contingent is based, and these helicopters make daily flights
for logistical, transport, and emergency reasons. So, the chopper’s arrival was
proof that the outside world had heard about our situation.
We didn’t have much open sky (it being a tiny field in the
middle of the bush) but we saw the helicopter, a big grasshopper-shaped thing,
which flew at a very high altitude above us, making a bee-line for the station
area. It started to sweep over the village area and suddenly a few shots rang
out. The rebels were still there and even had the balls to shoot at a UN helico!
Surely they UN would have to act! Even if they left, they’d get reinforcements
and return. This was the beginning of the end!
The chopper made another wider sweep and then left. In
total, the aerial reconnaissance lasted for less than 5 minutes. Despite our small
window of sky, we had a good view of the chopper as it departed. I watched with
uncertainty as it moved so slowly out and away from us, back towards civilization
where they would make decisions about how to break us out of this jungle
prison.
I calculated that they’d return in a minimum of 3 hours, so
we could still get out before darkness fell at 6:30 pm, that is…if things went
well. This wasn’t too much longer to wait.
---------------------------------
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Shushing the whispers: Sunday mid-day
They gave me a mango which they had stuffed in their pockets
before our abrupt fleet. When they gave me the mango, I realized that I was
actually quite hungry. We each enjoyed a mango and got our hands nice and
sticky with the juice.
I started to look around just to examine the potential for
finding more food. In our tiny maize field, there were indeed some mature ears,
given that it was harvest season. Also, the tree above us looked to hold some
small guava-type fruits. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to seem
over-excited or to be wrong about the fruits, but I felt confident that we
weren’t going to starve…not today anyways! After all, we were in a large mosaic
of agricultural fields and fallows, and this was war! Who could withhold from
us an ear of maize if we desperately needed it? Or some papaya?
Somewhat satiated, I laid down to rest at mid-day as we had
woken up at dawn with the shooting. Crispin and Baraka did also and we all
dozed for a little while. I’m not sure how much I actually slept or if I just
kind of spaced out. Lying on my back, I would look straight up into the trees, and
just think. Then I’d peek at my companions and see that Baraka and Crispin were
doing the same thing. We were all dwelling on our current situation and had no
desire to really discuss it. We were just thinking.
To distract himself, Baraka started to read some of the
Watchtower reading material that he had stuffed in his pockets along with the
mangoes before we fled. Crispin allowed him to read for only a few minutes
before asking also to read. Then he became ultra-concentrated on the reading
and it seemed like he read for an hour straight, totally consumed with Isaiah
or whichever prophet had the fortune to be in forced exile with us. Meanwhile,
not having any reading material, nor being too interested in stealing
WatchTower from a locked-in Crispin, I continued to space out, but also got up
to stretch my legs, and Baraka and I got to chatting a little bit. We asked
ourselves how we could have gotten into this situation. And how would we get
ourselves out? These were questions which we would ask ourselves every few
minutes throughout the entire ordeal. Baraka shared my despair but was also
resolute that we would get out soon. I agreed and wanted to believe it, but I
didn’t know what risks we’d still have to take to get out.
After a little while, Crispin and Baraka got up and chatted.
They held a long conversation about the article which Crispin had been reading.
Crispin was in the mood of philosophizing, and practically preached to Baraka
or posed him question after question about the article which he had just read intently.
I tried to listen to them sometimes, catching some of what they were saying but
let my mind wander off to do my own philosophizing, but it didn’t really come.
All I wanted to do was get out of there, but I knew that was the last thing
that I could do. It was not the first time where I would have to exercise
patience despite it not coming at all naturally.
Crispin has kind of a deep voice that carries, so when he
wasn’t “whispering”, Baraka and I chided him to. We sat together and whispered,
and he continued chatting, so we continued to rebuke him. Eventually he adopted
quite a nice whisper but sometimes we’d have to remind him. I felt like all my
senses were on high alert and kept an eye out on paths and even regularly gazed
into the bushes to make sure that my imagination wasn’t playing games with me.
Sporadic gunshots continued, spread out, and at one point grew
closer to us. We knew the rebels were in our concession and even entering into
the agricultural zone, but they still had a long ways to come to reach us.
However, we took the precaution of being as quiet as possible. Crispin, who was
convalescent and still had quite some phlegm in his throat, would sometimes clear
it and make quite a lot of noise. I tried to imagine how far would it carry
through the bush? 20 meters? 100 meters? 300 meters? Baraka and I would both
glare at him and tell him that if we were going to be caught, it would be his
fault!
Baraka remarked that these guys were very proud now. We
imagined that they were strutting around the deserted village and shooting in
the air to announce their victory and their continued presence to the thousands
of hidden souls. I could imagine the rebels had a spike of testosterone from
the battle that they had just won. They had undoubtedly killed many and were
all alone with no one in pursuit. They were at the top of the rebel world! Now
they would celebrate, intimidate, shoot, and start collecting their booty.
I shivered at the thought of some hideous persons wreaking
havoc on the most peaceful little village that I have ever known. How could I
now disappear into that jungle by myself to discover birds which I didn’t know
existed? How could I now stumble home in pitch darkness from the village bar to
my humble little house knowing that I’d arrive just fine? How could I now make
a carefree jaunt with my friends through the forest that time had forgotten?
How could I now explore the most remote regions of this forest with my trusted
and sure-footed pygmy guides? How could I now continue the endless search for
the crown jewel of this forest, the silent and elusive okapi? How could I now bring
my girlfriend for a romantic getaway which I was so certain would seal her love
for me forever?
Monday, July 9, 2012
Waiting & Listening: Sunday mid-morning
Shortly after settling in to our hiding place, we began to
hear gunshots all the way to 4 km down the road (distance is measured from
Epulu village eastwards along the road towards villages Eboyo @ 1-4km and
Bapukeli @ 5-7km). Our tiny maize field was positioned just below the crest of
a hill which sloped gently down towards the river. This would protect us from
being heard by anyone who was closer to the road, but also would prevent us
from hearing anything very well, except for gunshots. The morning air grew
slightly thicker, though the temperature stayed cool as it was overcast. This prevented
us from hearing very well but I won’t forget the sound of emptiness.
On hot weekend afternoons, I have often noted an empty silence,
which is only accompanied by the white noise of the rushing rapids on Epulu
River. Sometimes I am alone in my concession, reading, enjoying the quiet. Few
people mill about because of the heat and all I can hear is this rushing. This
makes me feel like time has stopped and I start to think about how far away I
am…from anything. I cannot call anyone, I don’t see anyone, all I can see is a
huge blue sky, and endless green jungle. And all I hear is the rushing river
because even the birds find it to be a bit too hot to be chirping or singing.
This rushing sound even lives with me when I am not in Epulu. A few days after
returning home to Massachusetts one summer, I asked my dad why the creek behind
our neighbors’ yard was rushing so much. He corrected me and reminded me that
the local highway was the source of the white noise.
However this silence with a rushing river sound is typically
broken by signs of life which interrupt my day-dreaming. Huge trucks cross over
the Epulu River bridge and the loose planks loudly clang together or loud
vehicles drive past. But being so far from the bridge, we could now hear
nothing. Sometimes we would imagine sounds. Was that a vehicle crossing the
bridge? Or a distant gunshot? Or we’d hear a tapping and strain to hear its
source, and then realize that Crispin was unconsciously tapping his shoes
together. I’d lie down, close my eyes, and hear some unknown sounds, only to
rouse myself and realize they were coming from Baraka’s groaning stomach. We’d
laugh and then go back to thinking, chatting or resting.
Similarly to my day-dream filled weekend afternoons, the
silence was frequently interrupted and the source was easy to determine.
Gunshots pierced the silence at random, with varying distances between them in
time and space. We knew that we were not just under attack, but under siege. My
thoughts turned to my coworkers…my assistant Martinique, my good friend
Tony…what had they experienced up in town? Were they ok? I had no way of
knowing. Then my thoughts jumped to maman Asumpta. Had she run and hidden
somewhere? Where were her kids and my homonym, her 2-year old daughter, Joelle?
Were they ok? I prayed for God to protect them from the gunshots. In my head, I
started to count the guards who I decided must be dead. I hoped that if it
wasn’t all of them, then that it wasn’t some of the ones who I knew well. But I
knew it would be bad, the frequency in which silence was pierced by gunshots,
told me that it would be bad.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
The Epulu attack: dawn on Sunday, June 24:
The first five hours: 5:00 - 10:00 am - 24 June 2012
On Saturday, June 23, I returned to Epulu with my boss,
arriving after 7 pm, by which time it was already dark. I had been away for
almost 3 weeks and was very excited to be back at home. I hoped to easily
resume my life back at the research center, albeit for only a few days before
returning to Bunia, where I had come.
My maman had left
dinner on the table for me and after eating well, I went to Robert’s house to
watch a football match and then returned to my house when I went to sleep at about
1030pm. I was very tired so sleep came easily and I did not awaken at all
during the night. At about 430ish, I woke up with a start and then asked
myself, why did I just wake up? Usually when I awake at that time, it is
because it is the coldest time of the night, I have to use the toilet, or I’ve
just come out of a deep sleep, or a combination thereof. None of these applied
and I quickly drifted back to sleep.
But just a few minutes later, I awoke to what sounded like a
grand finale of fireworks, which I think was the first volley of gunfire
launched, which continued with a lot of strength for at least 15 minutes. As
soon as I processed the noise, I knew immediately that the ICCN station was
being attacked by the Mai-Mai rebels of Morgan. My first reaction was to just
sit on my bed and I started to shiver and pray. This exchange of fire continued
for many minutes and I started to imagine where the gunfire was coming from. I
imagined that the rebels were on our side of the bridge (Eboyo) but were
shooting from the bridge at the ICCN who are posted at the other side of the
bridge (Epulu). I stayed in my house and didn’t look out of the windows at all,
because I didn’t want anyone to know I was there. At one point, Papa Michel,
the old night watchmen, walked past the house, and I called to him without
opening the door. I asked him “qu’est-ce
qui se passe?”. He replied in a
nonchalant manner, “je ne sais pas”. A
few minutes later, Michel passed behind my house again and I tried to slip him
a note to transmit to Robert, my boss, but he didn’t understand what I was
trying to do. Not wanting him to linger by my house to signal my presence, I
shooed him off.
The shooting continued and I tried to triangulate its
position as it started to disperse and diminish. I imagined that the exchange
of gunfire had backed the rebels into the forest where I often go
bird-watching. I imagined that they had infiltrated from this forested area, as
the rest of the station area is surrounded by village. The shooting died out a
bit and seemed to be a bit more random. It was difficult to know what was
happening. Imagining that they were in the forest and the park guards were
pursuing them, this helped explain that there was hardly any exchange of
gunfire.
By 6:30, after 1 ½ hours of gunfire, it largely ceased. I
imagined that the WCS chauffeur would come as soon as it had completely
stopped, so I started to pack my bags up. They had just been unpacked the night
before. I drew the curtains back a little bit to let in some light but I stayed
inside my house. With all the fright, I had to urinate several times, so I had
used an empty juice box to avoid having to go out to my toilet. I ate nothing
so that new food wouldn’t force me to have to invent an inside toilet!
After packing my bags, I opened my computer and typed some
emails that I would send as soon as I could get a connection. I saw my neighbor
Crispin outside of his house, but decided not to move out of the house or to
signal to him, but I kept an eye on his house, which was closer to the road and
also to the station.
Suddenly heavy gunfire erupted again from the station area
and I realized that the rebels had not slunk off into the forest as I had
hoped. A motorbike could be heard crossing the bridge and suddenly 3 loud
gunshots were heard from that same area. A few minutes later, Baraka came out
of Crispin’s house and started running back towards his house. I knew from his
habit, that he would run directly behind my house, so as his footsteps
approached the back of my house, I whistled to him and he came into my house. I
said, what in the world is going on? Where is Robert? What are we going to do?
He didn’t have any immediate responses and told me that he needed to go but
that he’d return so that we could make a plan. As he left, I begged him to come
back, because I wasn’t sure if he would really come. After he left, I got a bit
nervous that he was going to panic and run rather than returning. After just a
few long minutes, Baraka and Crispin came to my house with the night watchman,
Michel. We were there to decide upon a plan and this made me realize the
gravity of the situation. We were going to have to flee our houses into an
unknown situation. Where would we go? How long would we be there? I thought of
death, of my girlfriend, and started to cry. This was the first time that I
felt really desperate. Baraka told me to be strong and comforted me and told me
that we were not going to die.
After a minute, I gathered my wits and started talking.
These guys said that Michel would lead us towards an area at the back of our
compound from where we could flee. We would try to hide ourselves from
everybody, even villagers, as we could all be considered “high-value” targets
for the attackers. I changed quickly into pants and emptied one of my backpacks
which I had just hastily packed. It didn’t make sense to carry a lot of stuff
while fleeing. So I just left a few random things like a towel, binoculars, and
a pair of shorts; (note: no rainjacket). I grabbed a half-full water bottle and
the only food I could; one papaya and one lime. The other guys urged me to
hurry as I was still shuffling stuff around tying my shoes as they were already
on their way out the door. I yelled at them to wait for me, I wanted us to be together
so that we could act tactically, and I was not going to be left behind. Michel
led us out of the house in total silence and each of us covered our heads as we
walked briskly. There was absolutely no one around, and the only four people
who I had seen that day were together.
We got behind Baraka’s house and found some random path
which led into the thick fallows which form an impenetrable boundary between
the forest and the fields, both of which are much easier to move through.
However, I knew that this zone was where we needed to be at the moment. We
could move into the forest which lined the river, but it could be more
dangerous, as we didn’t know what was lurking there, or if we could be seen
from the other side of the river.
We didn’t follow any paths, we just moved at random through a
path of least resistance. Crispin led us through a grassy field then through
thick pole-like weeds which became totally impenetrable, and then I realized
that Papa Michel was no longer with us. This surprised me because he was
supposedly the one to lead us. However, being an old man, it made little sense
that he’d lead us, but at least he’d stay with us, but he was nowhere to be
seen and it seemed as though he might have turned back.
I was positive that we wouldn’t be spotted in this type of
habitat. One of my previous bird-watching walks had taken me into this area and
resulted in exasperation, as I got stuck again and again in thick brush or
weeds before finally emerging into some villager’s fields. We did the same this
time around and emerged onto one of the main paths out from our small village,
Eboyo, to its agricultural zone, which is a huge mosaic of fields, fallow,
bush, and forest. After marching on it for a little while, Baraka made the
point that we should deviate, because our current path would make us very easy
to spot. We debated in whispers how far out we should go and where we actually
would want to stop, whether at a hut or in a field. We quickly nixed the idea
of finding a hut, and kept moving, but opted to take a very minor path. We kept
moving away, without seeing or hearing a soul. After an hour or so of walking,
we arrived at a place where we felt we could stop. It was a tiny field of
maize, surrounded by bush and forest on each side. The path didn’t really seem
to lead anywhere so we felt like we could sit in the corner of the field which
had a view of the path but which was also hidden.
We sat, rested, and started to chat a little bit. It was
about 10:00 am on Sunday and we were about 2 km from our concession. I asked
where Papa Michel had gone and they said he’d turned back. As we settled down,
sporadic gunshots continued and I tried to ascertain their location. They
spread out and soon we were sure that gunshots were on both sides of the river.
This made me really fear for Papa Michel; I began to imagine the worst. Where
had he gone? Had he returned to “defend” our concession? Were those gunshots
coming from our concession? Where was he going to hide? Was he still safe?
We began to hypothesize about what had happened and what was
going on. They told me that the motorbike which had crossed the bridge had had
3 rebels on it, naked, and they had fired three shots.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Dikembe blocked
I realize people all make mistakes and are far from perfect, but I still expect a certain level of integrity. Especially some people paint pictures of their good-will and charity to others. Then they are found to be profiting personally from it....that is just incomprehensible.
What I'm talking about is an alleged gold-deal between an army General wanted by the International Criminal Court and Dikembe Mutombo.
Dikembe's gold deal
Dikembe, if this is true...shame on you! How many people were raped and abused in the gathering of this gold! And using the profits for humanitarian activities? That's absurd...do you realize how hypocritical and ridiculous that would be. So much that I don't believe it...you have millions already and greed just knows no limits. I'm sorry to hear this, as Dikembe has done lots of good for some people in DRC and he has been a role model for many Congolese, which is in desperate need of community servants and solid role models. You just lost a lot of respect...
What I'm talking about is an alleged gold-deal between an army General wanted by the International Criminal Court and Dikembe Mutombo.
Dikembe's gold deal
Dikembe, if this is true...shame on you! How many people were raped and abused in the gathering of this gold! And using the profits for humanitarian activities? That's absurd...do you realize how hypocritical and ridiculous that would be. So much that I don't believe it...you have millions already and greed just knows no limits. I'm sorry to hear this, as Dikembe has done lots of good for some people in DRC and he has been a role model for many Congolese, which is in desperate need of community servants and solid role models. You just lost a lot of respect...
Sunday, February 5, 2012
The 3rd Republic continued
I'm not in exile anymore, but I'm not in Canaan either. We've moved past the election period and seemingly nothing has changed except the creation of more uncertainty. The legitimacy of the current regime is in serious question after seriously flawed presidential and legislative elections. Nobody quite knows where to go from here...political parties are busy molding their own versions of truth and clamoring for the rest of the power.
Meanwhile, conservation will continue to be extremely difficult in this political environment. The vast majority of Congolese depend directly on natural resources (what they can hunt, grow, or gather) and are living in abject poverty. Therefore, poaching and mining in protected areas will continue at a high tenor, because the justice system does not function. Poachers spend 3 days in prison, pay off the prison-guards and are back in the forest causing chaos for elephants, as well as native pygmy populations. The pygmies are greatly affected by poaching, as they're either obliged to guide the poachers or they're threatened by them. So one can sometimes ascertain the safety of the forest by which/how many pygmies are living along the road. Conservation faces an uphill battle - in reducing poaching and destruction of ecosystems and species pyramids. Unless things change, it will continue the overexploitation that has been seen in many previous civilizations, but somehow, very rarely in Africa. This reminds me of how few American bison were left before American settlers realized they had to stop and put some controls on their hunting.
Persistent insecurity will not favor the growth of the tourism sector anytime soon, with Virunga NP and Kahuzi-Biega National Parks being the only accessible options in DRC. No matter how you cut it, there is only a very small number of intrepids who are going to take the risk and hassle of coming to DRC. But they should! Its an interesting place, very beautiful, and yet, troubled.
Meanwhile, conservation will continue to be extremely difficult in this political environment. The vast majority of Congolese depend directly on natural resources (what they can hunt, grow, or gather) and are living in abject poverty. Therefore, poaching and mining in protected areas will continue at a high tenor, because the justice system does not function. Poachers spend 3 days in prison, pay off the prison-guards and are back in the forest causing chaos for elephants, as well as native pygmy populations. The pygmies are greatly affected by poaching, as they're either obliged to guide the poachers or they're threatened by them. So one can sometimes ascertain the safety of the forest by which/how many pygmies are living along the road. Conservation faces an uphill battle - in reducing poaching and destruction of ecosystems and species pyramids. Unless things change, it will continue the overexploitation that has been seen in many previous civilizations, but somehow, very rarely in Africa. This reminds me of how few American bison were left before American settlers realized they had to stop and put some controls on their hunting.
Persistent insecurity will not favor the growth of the tourism sector anytime soon, with Virunga NP and Kahuzi-Biega National Parks being the only accessible options in DRC. No matter how you cut it, there is only a very small number of intrepids who are going to take the risk and hassle of coming to DRC. But they should! Its an interesting place, very beautiful, and yet, troubled.
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